This invention describes an improved method of continuously forming a composite laminate.
Composite materials offer the advantages of lightweight, high stiffness, high specific strength, high dimensional stability and have widespread applications in aerospace structures.
Composite laminates are made by laying up plies or layers of composite prepregs--which are sheets of fibers impregnated with a matrix--and curing the layup at elevated temperature and pressure. Most of the layup and handling work on composite laminates is done manually and intermittently. In such intermittent operations, curing is done in heated chambers which are pressurized to 80 to 100 psig. Apart from the inconvenience and expense of manual operations any air leakage in the heated chamber destroys the pressure needed for curing, and results in high void contents in the composite and rejected parts.